Trust Can Evolve
by EchoResonance
Summary: It's several years later, and genius little Maka graduated from college early to return to her home. But Soul starts acting strange. Can Maka figure out what's going through her best friend's head? Sequel to 'Trust Can Break or Build'
1. Missing You

_**Alright, for simplicity's sake, I'm making the tiny twins, Fire and Thunder, Kilik's sisters. Sorry if that bugs anybody, but they're only mentioned in passing.**_

Skype was the world's best damn invention. It meant that I could still see and talk to all of my high school friends when they went out of town. Most didn't, because they had local jobs, but it was my only way to keep up with others. Liz had taken a job waitressing down at Chupa Cabra's, and Kidd was now the principal at our old school. Three years had passed since we graduated from the Academy, and Liz's little sister Pati was a senior now, getting ready to graduate herself. BlackStar had joined the military, and Tsubaki had a job at a local bookstore. Those two made the most of the time BlackStar had when he visited. I'd spoken to him recently. The next time he came back, he said it would be with a ring. Harvar and Jackie had gone off somewhere and were happily living in Oceania with a modest one-story house. They sent pictures and visited. Ox Ford was now an instructor at the Academy, and Kim Diehl was a housewife. Yeah, I know, I didn't believe it either. Kilik and his little twin sisters were sports coaches for Kidd at the Academy. It was amazing how many of us had wanted to stay behind after we didn't have to. That place had great memories.

However I hadn't been with Maka since we graduated. She was off at some fancy university, learning a bunch of random crap that would never apply to real life. All I got were the Skype conversations—which, not that I'd admit it, I lived for some days. They were far better than nothing, true. But I missed my best friend. I made due playing the piano down at various nightclubs, living in our—I refused to call it mine—apartment. She'd moved in half way through senior year, the moment she turned eighteen. It surprised everyone, because we'd only known each other for a few months, but I had no problem with it, and she was handy to have around. Now I realized that, although she hadn't even been there for a year, I'd already gotten used to her presence. It felt weird opening the door to her bedroom and seeing everything neat and orderly. Her bed was made, the covers tight enough to bounce a quarter off of them. Her desk was free of textbooks, study guides, and loose sheets of paper covered in notes, and her bookcase still had most of her old novels sitting patiently for someone to pull them down and open them once more. Her closet and dresser were empty. Everything was covered in a layer of dust that, as soon as I finished cleaning, seemed to swoop right back to settle on any semi-flat surface, mocking me.

I missed her more than words could express, but of course I never told her that. It wouldn't be very cool to make her feel guilty about going off to get an education.

A loud beep sounded from my room, followed by an impatient shout.

"Soul! Where are you?"

I hurried out of her room, shutting the door behind me, and rushed into my own bedroom.

Sure enough, there she was, grinning at me from my computer screen. We had set times in the afternoon when we could work these talks in, and I was always in the apartment, with my computer's volume up as loud as it could go, by seven at night, and I was there until nine, fingers crossed that she'd pop up on that screen.

"Hey!" she said brightly, flashing a dazzling white smile.

"Hey Maka," I grinned. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" she answered. "The curriculum isn't as hard as everyone was saying."

I snorted derisively.

"Yeah, well, it helps that you're some sort of freaky genius."

She stuck out her tongue at me.

"Just because I _study_, unlike some people I know."

"Hey, I studied!" I protested, but I couldn't hold back a smirk.

She grunted in amusement.

"Yeah, if Sports Illustrated and Playboy magazines count."

We both let out loud laughs.

"Maka," I said a little more seriously. "How _are_ your studies going?"

Her smile widened.

"Great. The instructors are really impressed. I'm ahead of everyone else in my classes."

I smiled softly.

"That's great."

"Ugh, have I told you about my Biology instructor?" she shuddered.

I chuckled.

"The one with the stitches?"

"Yeah, Professor Stein! He creeps me out! Sometimes he'll have these normal, sane moments where he can be serious or funny, and then all of a sudden he takes a dive off the deep end. _And_ he's _obsessed_ with dissections! We're in college, for Death's sake! I would've thought we'd outgrown this crap, but he's fascinated with cutting things apart. It's downright scary!"

My snicker turned into full-blown laughter.

"Your own fault Maka! But at least you only have one more year of school, right? Then you can get away from the crazy professors and back here to your even _more_ crazy friends!"

She blinked, and looked on the verge of saying something, but seemed to think better of it. I frowned.

"Maka? Something wrong?"

She shook her head, and her smile was back. Was it my imagination, or did it look…a bit like my impish grin? The one that told everyone I was up to mischief. Nah, that couldn't be right. Innocent, sweet little Maka would never in a million years be playing tricks on other people. Ok, yeah, maybe she was up to something. But I knew better than to push it. So, I shrugged.

"Alright then."

"So, how are things at home?"

"How do you think? 'S more of the same. "Kidd's pretty good up at the school, albeit on occasion he'll freak out students when he goes into one of his obsessive-compulsive fits, but what else is new? Pati's actually on track to graduate as of right now, which her sister is really proud of. BlackStar'll be back soon, and you'll have to come down for what he's planning. No," I added at her questioning look, "I'm not about to tell you. Liz is working with our friend Blair down at Chupa Cabra's, and Tsubaki is working at your old hideout."

"The bookstore by the old café?" Maka checked.

I nodded.

"The very same. She loves it there."

There was a moment of silence. Then—

"Soul, how are _you_?"

I frowned.

"Uh, fine I guess, but—"

"Give a real answer, not that 'I guess' crap. The last few times we've talked, you've looked like something's been bothering you."

Damn, but Maka was perceptive. And here I thought I'd been doing a pretty fantastic job of not letting anything on.

"I miss you, Maka. We all do," I sighed, and shrugged. "So sue me; I miss my best friend."

Maka gave a half smile.

"I miss you too, Soul, but I'll be back for the summer. School year's almost over already. Just be patient. I'll be home before you know it."

I nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I'd say I'll have your room clean, but every time I try, the dust comes right back."

She laughed.

"That's because it's not afraid of you. Dust is afraid to settle when I'm there."

"I don't doubt it," I muttered.

She just smiled, then glanced at her watch.

"Oh, I have to go now, Soul. Talk to you soon, alright?"

I looked over at my clock. It was already after eight. I nodded to her.

"Yeah, later. See you, Maka."

"Bye!"

The screen blanked out, and I sat back in my chair with a heavy sigh, wishing later could come a hell of a lot sooner.


	2. Surprise!

"Are you alright, Soul?" Liz asked concernedly. "You seem kinda down lately."

I shrugged.

"I miss Maka."

She nodded.

"Yeah, me too. We all do."

"I talked to her last night, though," I added. "She made sure to tell me that she'd be home soon."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But it was weird. We started talking about her college, and she opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, then shook her head and closed it. There's something she didn't tell me that she wanted to, so…What?"

The look on Liz's face confused me. A slow, evil grin was slowly splitting her face, and her dark blue eyes had that dangerous glint in them that had me backpedaling to the door.

"Liz, don't do something dumb—"

She waved away my concerns.

"Get back over here. I'm not gonna do anything, I swear. I just think it's…funny, that she didn't tell you."

I frowned and sat back down across from her at the table.

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Nope, I won't say," she responded, shaking her head. "If Maka didn't want you to know, then it's not my business to inform you."

"Liz! If you know what's going on, tell me!" I snapped.

She shook her head again and, still grinning, mimed zipping her lips together. I let out an irritated growl and raked a hand through my wild hair. Three years later, and it still couldn't cooperate. That could be due to my always riding my motorcycle, but _still_.

"Fine. Whatever. Don't tell me. I'll talk to you later," I said sourly, standing and striding out of the building. Her laughter drifted after me.

_Damn Liz and her infuriating hobby of annoying me._ I thought, jumping onto my bike and revving the engine.

I needed to talk to Tsubaki. She was the most level-headed person in Death City, and I needed someone who could remain calm and sensible. Kidd may have been a decent option, but Tsubaki didn't have any tendencies toward trying to straighten my clothes and make my hair perfectly symmetrical.

* * *

"Not you too!" I cried in exasperation.

Tsubaki smiled her soft little smile and gestured for me to sit back down. She was on break, and we were both sitting at one of the little tables with the umbrella over it at the café. I'd just leapt out of my little wicker chair.

"Soul, I really can't tell you, if Maka didn't want to," she said calmly, still smiling. "But what I can tell you with utmost certainty is that you won't be mad at us for long. You'll find out soon, I promise."

I rolled my eyes.

"Ugh, girls. They're all insufferable."

Tsubaki laughed.

"You don't _really_ think that, do you, Soul?"

I snorted.

"Right now? Yeah, kind of."

She shook her head indulgently. She'd changed since high school. No longer was she the girl who was so desperate to fit in to a public-approved mold that she rarely had time for anything else. Now she was quiet and thoughtful, and completely and totally indifferent to what the world thought of her.

"I'm leaving. I'll see you later, Tsubaki," I sighed. She rose and gave me a brief embrace.

"I wasn't kidding, Soul. You'll find out real soon."

"Whatever," I huffed, then slid my old and beat up leather jacket on, and traipsed to my bike. I looked over my shoulder just before I took off, and Tsubaki was watching me, still with that secretive little grin.

I shook my head, and gunned the engine for home.

* * *

Several weeks passed, and Maka hadn't shown up on Skype. The school year was now, officially over, and I was waiting for her to show up any day. So, when the doorbell rang, I all but flew down the hall. But, when I opened it, it revealed just Kidd and the sisters. The looks on their faces told me that something was up. Their eyes were dark and hard, their jaws tight, their lips pressed together. They looked seven shades of worried.

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" I said immediately, already reaching for my boots.

They shared a look.

"It'd be best if you saw for yourself," Liz said at last. "You've got to get to Tsubaki's place ASAP."

I nodded, and they ran back down the steps. What was wrong? I wondered as I yanked my jacket on and snatched my bike keys. What could possibly have the others so worried that they'd come to my apartment looking like they'd just seen a ghost? I stone lodged in my stomach. Did it have anything to do with why Maka wasn't home yet?

With that thought, I bolted from the flat, barely pausing to lock the door behind me before barreling down the stairs and leaping onto my bike. I jammed the key into the ignition and gunned the gas. Screw the traffic laws, I was working myself into a panic, and I had to get to Tsubaki's.

_Nothing's wrong with her_, I told myself as I shot around corners and curb-jumped when traffic didn't go fast enough. I gave the people screaming at me a fingered version of my opinion over my shoulder, and kept blasting down the asphalt.

_It's not Maka,_ I said again and again in my head. _She's fine. Nothing is wrong._

When I pulled to a screeching halt outside Tsubaki's small apartment, I saw an unfamiliar sight. The curtains were all drawn. Heart hammering, I turned off the bike and moved to the door. Suddenly it was like my entire body was full of lead, and I could barely force my feet to take me up the few steps, and almost couldn't raise my hand to knock. I did it though, rapping smartly on the shiny wood, palms sweating.

"It's open!"

Mouth dry, I pushed into the house.

"Living room!" someone called.

Slowly, fearing what I might find, I shuffled over the carpet into the until room.

"Guys?" I said hesitantly.

"Suddenly all the lights came on, and there was a collective shout.

"SURPRISE!"

I blinked stupidly at the grinning faces surrounding me, brain not quite keeping up.

"Uh…it's not my birthday. You guys said there was a problem." Mumbled, looking at each of their faces in turn. None of them looked the least bit concerned now. They were glowing with happiness.

Liz rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Soul, don't be so dense! We were just trying to get you over here fast. We've got a surprise for ya!"

I scratched my chin, mind still moving a little sluggishly.

"And that would be…What?"

Kidd grinned hugely—and symmetrically, of course.

"Guess who graduated college early?"


	3. Home At Last

_**There'll be some slight OOC moments, but I'll try not to make them too bad. We all know how love can make a person completely insane ;) Plus, several years might have managed to make Soul a little more mature.**_

As one, the group shifted aside, giving an unobstructed view of the room behind them. I blinked again.

"Maka? You already graduated?"

She nodded her ashy blonde head even as she flung those tiny, slender arms around my broad shoulders and buried her face in my chest.

"Yeah, I did! I'm here to stay," she sighed happily against my throat. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as her breath whispered over my skin.

Finally my brain caught up with my surroundings and I wrapped my arms as tightly around her tiny waist as I could without crushing her and lifted her into the air with an exultant laugh.

"You're home!"

"Yeah…Yeah, I'm home," she replied softly.

I set her back on her own two feet, and gave her a thorough once-over. Maka was a couple of inches taller, putting her somewhere around five-six, and her dusky hair now reached halfway down her ribcage. Finally she had filled out, and had a modest but solidly _there_ hourglass figure. Her face, as I'd noticed on Skype, had lost its childish roundness and was all sharp planes and angles. Her eyes were the same, though. Exceptionally wide and bright, electric green. She reached out, and her tiny fingers brushed the side of my face.

"You need to shave, Scruffy," she giggled when she felt my five o'clock shadow.

"Those three—" I pointed to Kidd and the sisters, "—pulled me out of the flat before I could. They made me think there was some kind of horrible thing waiting for me at Tsubaki's. I thought someone had died or something—that's how somber Liz looked!"

Maka grinned at the others and, almost absent mindedly, took my hand. I nearly jerked my hand away in surprise. Not that she'd taken it—we used to hold hands all the time in high school, and we always got teased for it, but who cared?—but that something completely unfamiliar happened. I felt something like a spark of electricity from the point where we touched, heat spreading from the point of contact. What was that?

If Maka noticed anything, or felt something similar, she didn't let on. She just grinned and laughed and caught up with everyone, never letting go of my hand. I found myself smiling, really smiling, for the first time since I was last with her. Yeah, I'd smirk and chuckle on occasion, but somehow, inexplicably, Maka was the only one who could bring out a real sincere grin.

* * *

After several hours of telling each other what had been going on in their lives, Soul finally managed to pull Maka away from the group and outside with some warm goodbyes. He slung an arm across her shoulders, leading her to the bike, but she ducked away from him with a dry smile.

"I have a car I need to drive home, Soul," she said, digging a set of keys from her jeans pocket. "It's got my bags and stuff in it."

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, but when we get back, you're coming on a ride with me. We'll see if you're as good of a bike passenger as I remember."

She laughed and turned to her shiny silver Volvo, which was parked on the side of the road. How had I missed that? I guess I really hadn't been paying much attention in my panicked state.

"See ya at home, Soul," she laughed, sliding easily into the small 2006 car.

Maka beat him home, but he got there soon enough to help her with his things.

"So, Soul," Maka grunted as she hefted a particularly heavy bag out of her trunk. "How's Crona? You've told me about everyone except him. Is he still doing alright?"

I paused in hauling one of her bags out of the backseat.

"Crona…He's…he's in the Sanitarium in the next town over. Under lockdown; people think he's totally crazy."

She frowned, and sighed.

"He always was strange. Timid. I didn't think he was mad though."

I shrugged.

"He'd been going on about all this weird stuff. Saying his blood was black, and talking to himself as though he had several personalities. He argued with himself a lot. I think he might be Schizophrenic. He also started hurting himself."

She sighed again.

"Oh well. Maybe someone will be able to help him. He was always very nice to me."

"Yeah," I mumbled noncommittally.

In truth, hearing Maka reminiscing about Crona of all people kind of set my teeth on edge, but hell if I knew why. I jerked her bag out of the car and shut the door, maybe with more force than was strictly necessary. She looked over at me, a slight frown creasing her brow at the sound of the door slamming. I made an apologetic gesture, and started pulling the suitcase up the stairs to our landing. She closed her trunk, locked the car, and followed me.

I heard her sharp intake of breath when she walked in. I hadn't changed anything since she'd left three years ago. This was her first summer back, and I was sure seeing the entryway, the living room, the kitchen, all the exact same probably brought back some nostalgia. Glancing over my shoulder, I actually dropped her bag in surprise. Her eyes were shining, her teeth tugging at her lower lip.

"Maka?" I said in alarm. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing. It's just…"

Without warning, she flung herself at me, her arms wrapping tightly around my neck. Even her slender legs wrapped around my waist. My hands slid around her in a cautious return of the spontaneous embrace.

"Maka?" I said gently when her shoulders trembled. "What's wrong, Maka? You're crying."

She shook her head again, her face pressed against my throat.

"I missed it," she mumbled. "I missed you. All of you. Sometimes…sometimes I couldn't sleep because I was so homesick. It was weird not waking up to your exceptionally loud voice in the mornings."

I slid on of my hands into her hair, massaging her scalp tenderly. Where this gesture came from, I had no damn idea, but it seemed to soothe her a little, so I kept it up. I rested my chin on the top of her head.

"Yeah…it was odd without you here to yell at me when I didn't finish the laundry, too," I chuckled.

She took a shuddering breath.

"The nightmares were the worst, Soul," she mumbled. "I didn't even have a roommate to talk to about them. I had no one to wake up to. It was horrible."

I took a deep breath, and carefully disentangled myself from her limbs, setting her feet back on the thick carpet.

"Do you regret going?" I asked her seriously.

She shook her head immediately.

"No, not at all. But obviously there were things that were missing."

I smiled softly, and gave her chin an affectionate chuck.

"You're home now, though. You've got all of us back. And if you ever need anything, obviously you already know I'm right next door to your room."

She gave a watery smile and nodded, picking her suitcase up and rolling it past me into her room. I shot a bemused look after her, then shook my head and hauled her second bag after her. Her first bag was already open, and she was moving from it to the closet and back again with her clothes. All the dust had magically disappeared, as if it was in fact scared of her, and I hefted the black suitcase onto the faded yellow comforter beside the other one.

"Need any help?" I asked.

"Nope," she answered. "I'm good."

"Alright, then I'll be in the kitchen," I waved over my shoulder, already in the hall.

_Thank Death she's back_, I thought to myself, pulling down a pack of ramen from a cabinet. _I was going to lose it completely if I didn't see her soon, then I'd be right there with Crona._

I shook my head as I dug out a couple of eggs, different seasonings, and vegetables from various places in the room. Finally, after three extremely long damn years, and after only having Skype to assure myself that she hadn't forgotten about me, my best friend was home at last.


	4. Three Little Words

"I'm thinking about applying for a job at the Academy," said Maka idly, playing with my hair.

We were sitting on the side line of the park's basketball court, Maka on the bench, and me on the ground in front of her. I was leaning back against her knees, my head resting on her lap. Her tiny fingers slid through my pale and massaged my scalp.

I groaned.

"C'mon, Maka! Do something interesting!"

She huffed and tugged on my hair; not painfully so, but hard enough to get my attention, definitely.

"That _is_ interesting, Soul!" she snapped.

I snorted.

"Please. Sitting in a stuffy classroom with a bunch of pain-in-the-ass bratty kids for seven hours a day, five days a week? Plus the extra time spent grading, helping out the dumber ones after school, and the staff meetings? If those students are anything like how we were, I'd be running away in the opposite direction, screaming my head off as I went. So would you, if you were smart."

"I _am_ smart, Soul," she grumbled.

Her hands slid from my hair, and I bit back a sigh of complaint. That really had felt excellent; soothing. Now I understood why girls liked that so much. Was that weird?

"I know you are, Maka," I chuckled, reaching up to take her hands. "I was just teasing you, pigtails."

She'd given up the pigtails, of course, but that was still one of my favorite names for her. She would hit me with a book if I called her tiny-tits, and that name had long been invalid in any case.

Maka squeezed my fingers, then nudged me with her knees until I stood, groaning as my sore joints popped and cracked from sitting on the asphalt. We'd been watching Liz and Pati play some one-on-one, but they left a while ago, and we'd just stayed put. Now I was paying for that idea with cold and stiff muscles. Lovely. She followed my lead, rising fluidly to her feet and giving a long, languid stretch.

I allowed my gaze to roam over her as she did this, noticing how her tank top clung to her torso, accenting her tiny, tucked-in waist. Her sandy blonde hair had turned bright gold in the blazing afternoon sun. Those bright emerald eyes glowed, as though they were lit from within, and her plump pink lips parted in a huge yawn.

Without realizing what I was doing, my hand reached out of its own accord and tugged on a lock of her blonde hair.

"Ah!" she laughed, swatting at my chest. "Cut it out, Soul!"

I stopped pulling, but I didn't let go, instead letting the soft strands roll over my palm. Maka raised an eyebrow and eyed my fingers, but I barely noticed. A strange kind of heat had started beneath my skin and curled low in my belly, a fire demanding of fuel. I closed my fist over the lock of hair again, and pulled. Not hard. Gently. Slowly. At the same time I stepped forward and, with my free hand, caught her delicately tapered chin in my nimble fingers. Her viridian eyes sparked, and I watched as in them, I got to witness the kindling of another fire.

Her hands drifted up, one to rest lightly on my chest, directly over my heart, and the other to slide up my neck to the back of my head. Slender fingers slid once more into my thick hair, but it was a different kind of touch than previously. It sent shivers down my spine, as did her warm breath as it feathered the bare skin at my throat. I released her hair so that I could wrap my hand around her lower back and pull her in close. When I leaned down and captured her lips with my own, I felt it. That spark that ignited my senses. The flare of passion that not a single woman before her had evoked. And in that moment, as our eyes together drifted shut, I realized just what it was that made me miss my best friend so desperately that I had nearly driven myself mad.

"Mph, Soul," she mumbled against my lips.

I pulled back slightly, gazing at her through hooded eyes. Her own eyes were glazed over. Her hand slid from my hair to my neck, then to my jaw, where tiny fingers traced invisible patterns on my tanned skin.

"Yeah Maka?" I asked, startled at the rough, throaty edge to my voice.

Maka leaned forward, stretching up on her toes, and breathed into my ear, her lips just barely brushing the skin.

"Don't stop," she whispered.

I was only too happy to oblige, pulling her away from my neck to slant my mouth across hers, crushing her fragile body against my hard chest. Her lips her full and soft, moving with surprising skill against my own, deftly evoking a response. My blood boiled when she parted her mouth against mine, taking my lower lip carefully between her teeth and nipping gently. Fire roared through my blood and curled tightly in my stomach. I parted my lips as well, tongue ever so lightly tracing the shape of her lips. She shuddered, the hand in my hair clenching. When I dipped my tongue into her mouth, slowly and intimately exploring every hollow and crevice, she let out a soft, adorable groan and pulled me tightly to her. Her own tongue slid cautiously past my lips, and with an inward grin, I gave it a soft, slow stroke with my own, before pulling on it lightly. She drew in a sharp breath through her nose as I sucked, and I couldn't help my chuckle.

Maka broke away first, panting. I tucked her face into my neck and rested my chin on top of her crown, more to hide the flush I could feel on my face than anything else. Her hand slid from my hair to join the other one against my chest. I wrapped both of mine around her waist.

"Damn, Soul," she chuckled after a moment. "Maybe I should go away more often."

"Hell no, you shouldn't," Soul objected, then lifted a hand to run his fingers through her hair. "That had nothing to with you being gone. I'll kiss you as many times as you want, if you _don't_ go away again."

She nuzzled my throat, and I fought a shiver of pleasure.

"I'll always come back, Soul," she laughed.

I tightened my hold on her.

"Damn straight, woman."

She laughed again, louder, and then poked me in the chest until I allowed her to pull back slightly.

"Let's head home," she said quietly, with a soft little smile that melted my heart.

"Hang on a sec, I'm trying to think," I answered, frowning a little.

"About?"

"Trying to remember a few words I've heard on occasion. There were three of them. Aw, crap, what were they?"

Maka raised a perfect blonde eyebrow. I withdrew a single hand from her waist and smacked my forehead.

"Duh! I got 'em now."

I let a moment of silence pass.

"And?" Maka prompted as the silence grew.

I smiled and took half a step back, taking both of her hands in mine and looking down into her amazing green eyes.

"Maka Albarn, I love you."

Maka smiled.

"That's five words, Soul, but I love you too."

I stuck my tongue out at her, but pulled her closer and lashed my arms around her torso again. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, laughing.

"Math never was my favorite subject Maka, you know that."

She rolled her eyes.

"What _was_?"

I leaned back.

"You."

_**Sorry guys, I know it's been a long while since I've uploaded, but school and karate have kept me majorly on my toes. I plan on making up for it ASAP, and over the summer as well, though**_


End file.
